In The End We're Only Puppets
by Kara-of-the-Rainbows
Summary: Romance is supposed to be this grand adventure, a quest for love; however, that fails to hold true for those born into families with high standings. Rosalia just wanted her shot at true love, but instead she finds herself bending to the will of her family. She finds herself unwillingly engaged. Is it possible for her to break the strings that bind her? KyoyaXOc
1. Prologue

**AN: Hello everyone! For those of you who started reading my old story, its gone now. I decided to redo it after reading the manga. I just didn't like how my plot and character were developing. (I had things almost completely planned out.) So I decided to tweak it a bit, and this is where it lead me. I am sorry, but I promise this story/plot is better. **

**I plan to update weekly/biweekly. I already wrote the first two chapters, I just have to edit them. I do hope you enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC. I only own the OC. **

* * *

Rain lightly pattered against the window; the light from the room casting a faint glow on the drops that clung to the glass. A young woman sat on the window seat, the soft light reflecting in her bright green eyes. Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulder in soft curls. She sat perfectly still, appearing as if she were a doll, watching the rain fall to the pavement. The rain that was stuck in a never-ending cycle, falling from the sky only to be evaporated later and start the whole processes over again.

The rain was trapped.

Just like her.

A sigh escaped her lips as she recalled the conversation from dinner. The conversation that stole the small piece of freedom she so desperately tried to hold onto.

_The dining room was quiet, only the sound of silverware clashing with the plates could be heard. The stormy sky was visible through the long window on the far wall; the girl's eyes kept darting to the sky. She wished that she could be outside when it rained; free to dance around, twirling and spinning, as the raindrops kissed her face. _

"_Rosalia, I believe it's time that we discuss marriage."_

_The young girls head shot up from her plate. Surly, she must have heard wrong. Or maybe it was some sick joke. _

"_Marriage?" She repeated._

_One look into her father's eyes showed that he was completely serious; this was no joke._

"_What?! But, Father I'm barely 16!" _

"_Exactly, we've held off long enough. You have a responsibility to this family and it's about time you fulfilled it," his voice was stern. _

_A frown plastered itself to the girls face, her green eyes glittering with anger. _

"_Mom, can't you talk some sense into this insane man?"_

"_Rosalia, shut your mouth!" Her mother chastised her, as her father gave her a warning glare. _

_The teen at the table reluctantly clenched her jaws, but continued to glare at her father. An arranged marriage? This was hardly fair; they had no right to decided whom she should marry! What was she a show dog? Yet, in the back of her mind she knew that was all she was to her parents. In her world children were merely dogs breed to perfection; only to please the family in whatever way was deemed necessary. She was nothing more than a bargaining chip to bring deals to a smooth close. In the end she was only a puppet. _

_She pushed around the food on her plate; doing her best to ignore her father. _

"_Rosalia!" Her father shouted, his hand slamming down on the table causing both her and her mother to jump. _

_She looked up at him once more, the defiant glint still in her eyes. _

"_We'll arrange for you to meet him in a few months. The Ootori family is well known in the medical field; we could use this to expand our business overseas. I'm sure you can see how important this deal is to our family," he said coldly._

_Rosalia rolled her eyes, wishing that she didn't have to yield to the puppeteer's wishes._

"_I expect that I won't have to remind you to be on your best behavior," the underlying hint of a threat in his voice._

Rosalia sighed. She hated the life she was born into, she hated being breed for nothing more than to further business and secure financial aspects. She longed for the freedom that commoners had, at least they could choose whom to marry. They could date as they pleased and fall in love.

And that's all Rosalia ever wanted: the chance to meet a great guy who would sweep her off her feet, to go on countless dates with a guy and slowly fall in love. She just wanted a happily ever after.

But, in her life dreams about romance were simply dreams. Her life was not her own, others pulled the strings.

Rosalia's eyes scanned over the view from her window. The city of Florence was beautiful; she would hate to leave her city behind to live in some strange foreign place with a man whom wouldn't even care about her. But what could she do? Was it possible to defy the puppeteer?

Slowly a plan started to formulate in her mind. She may not be able to have the romance she always dreamed about, but she could stir up a little fun. She wouldn't make things easy on those whom held the strings.


	2. A Plan Placed into Action

**AN: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read this story thus far! Thank you! It made me happy to see that quite a few people checked it out.**

**I also wanted to say thanks to Melody Killowatts for following the story!**

**I hope you lovely readers enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own OHSHC. **

* * *

Rosalia plastered a smile to her face and waved goodbye to her parents, reminding them that she would be leaving for a friend's house. This was the day she was waiting for, ever since the unexpected announcement at dinner last week. Her father had a business trip and wouldn't be expected back for a few days, while her mother was away visiting family; it was the perfect time for a quick trip to Japan. Closing the door she ran up the stairs and to her room.

"No running in the halls, Miss Altimari. It's dangerous."

Rosalia glanced in the direction of the voice; standing near the stairs was an elderly women. Her gray hair was tide into a tight bun; the wrinkles on her face defend not only her age, but the stern appearance she always held onto. The women held a frown that looked less than pleased; a feature that always seemed permanent on her face.

This women standing at the end of the hallway was the head maid. She had been with the family ever since Rosalia could remember; however that didn't make her any less unpleasant. The maid had always been rather severe when it came to Rosalia. In fact, the girl had a sneaking suspension that this woman just didn't like children.

"My apologies Antonia," Rosalia plastered a smile to her face, "But you don't have to worry about cleaning up after me this week. I'll be leaving to a friend's house within the next hour."

"You have permission from your father?" She asked doubtfully.

"Naturally," she smiled.

It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get her father to let her go to a friend's house, but she eventually won him over. It might have helped that her friend's father was a very well respected man in the community. Part one of her plan had went over quiet well; her father had no idea that she had ulterior motives.

"Now if you don't mind I must finish packing," She politely made her way past the head maid and into her room.

Rosalia glanced at the suitcases on her bed, biting on her thumb. She was only slightly worried that this plan would backfire, but what else could she do? She didn't like being forced into corners. She was like a trapped animal, backed into a cage against her will.

She was hardly looking forward to this marriage. She wanted out. Her idea of love didn't involve being given away to someone like she was nothing more than property. She absolutely hated her situation in life, but was unsure of how to get out of it.

Unfortunately, she could see no way out of her predicament. Running away wasn't much of an option, she doubted she could live on her own; she simply wasn't strong enough.

Although, one thing she could do was find out more about the guy she was supposed to spend her life with. And she decided that she would do this on her own terms. Her father wanted her to wait for a proper meeting to be arranged. But, it couldn't hurt to sneak off ahead of schedule and find out some information, after all her parents would be away for about a few days. Plus, her father expected her to be at a friend's house for the week, and it was doubtful that he would check in on her. She had more than enough time to just pop over there for two days and spy on the guy. Besides, she was just _dying_ to meet her _beloved_ future husband.

With that last thought she grabbed her bags and headed out the door.

Rosalia knocked on the door of the large mansion, glancing off at the rose gardens as she waited for an answer. It didn't take long for a elegantly clad butler to open the door.

The young teen made her way into the house, glancing around for the danger she knew was coming.

Just as it was expected, a blur of blue and brown came hurdling towards her. Rosalia yelped as she fell to the ground, tripping over her suitcases.

"Rosie! It's been so long!" a musical voice laughed out.

"Clio, I saw you last week!" Rosie said laughing.

"Yeah, but that was a whole week ago! Ages even!"

Rosie rolled her eyes at her friends over exaggerated behavior. She pushed the petite burnet off of her.

"Clio, this is a business trip, remember?" Rosie lowered her voice to prevent the help from overhearing.

The burnet pouted, looking at her friend with big brown eyes.

"The puppy dog look isn't going to work on me," Rosie stood up, extending her hand to her friend, "Come on Clio."

"Fine, but remember you owe me!" Clio took her friends hand and pulled herself up.

Rosalia and Clio had been friends ever since childhood. Their families' had been business partners since the girls were children, resulting in them growing up almost as if they were sisters. She was the one person that Rosie knew she could trust. She didn't know what she would do without her.

Even now when she was plotting on boarding a flight to Japan behind her parents back Clio stuck by her side.

They had moved there meeting place into Clio's room. Clio was packing a small canvas bag. Rosalia laid back on the extravagant bed, her orange jacket clashing against her friend's deep blue blankets.

Clio walked over to her friend, dropping the bag on top of Rosie's stomach.

"Rosie…you do know what will happen if your dad finds out about this, right?"

Rosie moved her arm, blocking her bright green eyes from view, "Yeah…I know…but…I'll be back before him. I'll only stay for a couple days…"

Clio frowned at her friend, "Just be careful, okay?"

Rosie gave a slight nod in response.

* * *

**Clio POV**

Clio glanced at her friend, biting her lip in worry. She couldn't believe that Rosie was actually going through with this. Sure she had helped her friend plan this little trip, but she didn't think she would actually go through with it. She knew the girl was impatient, but surely she could wait a few months.

"Rosie…this isn't a good idea…"

She watched as her friend turned around, giving a bright smile, "Clio, no worries! Everything will be fine. I told you, I'll be back before my parents get back." Rosalia gave the little burnet a quick hug.

She frowned slightly, keeping her thoughts to herself as she watched her friend head towards the airport.

* * *

**Rosie's POV**

The plane ride had been a long and exhausting one. Rosalia was glad to finally be on the ground. She pulled her suitcase behind her and programed an address into the GPS on her phone. She began to follow the directions, glancing around at the streets willing herself not to stop at every interesting sight.

It was just so strange, yet exciting for her, she had never really been out of country. She never left Italy before, not even for family vacations. Her family was always too busy to go on trips. Even as a child they never had a proper family vacation.

Rosie shook her head trying to clear her head of those unpleasant thoughts.

Her phone went off, declaring that she had reached her destination. Rosalia looked up at the hotel she would be staying. It wasn't very grand, but it was welcoming. She had to make sure that she stayed off of her father's radar and that meant staying at a hotel where she wouldn't run into anyone from her world.


	3. Ouran Host Club

**AN: Happy Christmas! I just wanted to give all my readers a little present, I do hope you guys enjoy this! I hope you guys are enjoying the holiday, and to those of you on break (like me) I hope your enjoying your time away from school! **

**Now to thank those who have followed/favorited the story since the last chapter, seriously it makes me happy to find out people are actually following this! Thanks to KunoichiJay, HetaliaHostClubfan99, SeleneAlice, Llady Llama, Apocalypsebutterfly, RandomnessIsKey01 and brittanybarra1.**

* * *

Rosie stood in front of the body length mirror smiling at her reflection. She adjusted the blue cap on her head, making sure that her long hair was tucked neatly underneath. She ran her hands over the blue blazer, adjusting the sleeves around her wrist before moving to adjust the tie. Rosie grinned at her disguise. She looked like a young boy, a rather handsome one in her opinion.

_Nobody will know who I am. It's the perfect undercover disguise!_

Rosie glanced at the clock on her wall, deciding now was as good as any time to go. She put on her shoes and walked out the door, glancing at the walls of the hotel. Rosie couldn't believe that she was actually doing this. She felt a mix of emotions: excitement, fear and just a bit nervous.

Her mission was of the upmost importance. She could not allow herself to be discovered before she unofficially met the guy. This was just one of the small things that she could do to defy orders, one of the small ways that she could show her displeasure with the arrangement.

Rosie glanced up at the school in amazement. Ouran High School was much bigger than she had anticipated. Actually Rosie had never been to a school before, so she wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to expect. Her father had decided to homeschool her, hiring tutors to teach her about the basic subjects while he himself thought her about the basic concepts of her family's prestigious psychiatric business.

She grinned at the school, wanting nothing more than to just disregard her self-appointed mission and explore this new found land around her. She wanted to see every inch of it: The humongous buildings surrounding her; each and every countless rooms, the beautiful gardens and whatever wonders they most certainly contained.

Rosie frowned, and shook the idea out of her head. She had a goal, and she would accomplish it. Sighing, she pulled out a tardis blue notebook.

"Kyoya Ootori…music room #3…" she mumbled to herself in Japanese, as she pulled out a map, "Well…lets find this mystery man." She had decided to speak to herself in Japanese to get accustomed to the language she rarely used back in Italy.

Rosie cast a nervous glance around the hallway, before looking back at the map. As hard as she tried she just couldn't make heads or tails of the place. Map reading was definitely not one of her skills, but isn't that what GPS was invented for? She sighed in frustration, ripping the map into pieces and tossing it in a nearby trashcan. "That stupid map wasn't very much help…"

The young girl began to wander around the halls some more, until it felt as if hours had passed. This place was just so big, and she was completely unsure about where she was going. "I'm going to be stuck here forever…I'm going to die in here and nobody is going to find my body…"

A chuckle sounded out behind her.

Embarrassed, Rosie turned around quickly. "I…it was…um…joke…." She stumbled over her words, "Not that I was…er was talking to myself….that would be crazy…hehe…"

In front of her was a boy with brown hair and big brown eyes, "I know this place seems big, but I don't think you could get _that_ lost here. Somebody would eventually find you," A smile still tugging at his lips.

"Hey, it might be possible. You never know," Rosie grinned. "

"Well, I'm sure if you had a map it would be easier to find what you're looking for."

"Yeah…I had a map but…never mind," Rosie blushed, not wanting to admit that she tore up the map in frustration.

"Don't worry, I can help you," he smiled, "By the way, my name is Haruhi Fujioka."

"I'm Kazumi, **piacere**, I mean…nice to meet you," She held out her hand to shake hands.

_His hands are kinda soft…like a girls… _"What kind of moisturizer do you use?" Rosie immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, regretting the question. "Sorry…" She squeaked.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow at the question, but otherwise ignored it, "So what room are you looking for?"

"Music room #3."

The burnet's eyes widened slightly, "I was actually headed there right now…I could take you there."

"I would really appreciate that, **Grazie**."

Rosie studied the guy as he led the way. It didn't take long for realization to dawn upon her. Rosie's lips made a small 'o' shape and she covered her mouth to hide her grin. _I hope my disguise isn't so easy to see through…_

After finding their way up a staircase they came to a double set of doors, 'music room three' written out in fancy lettering just above the doors.

Once more Rosie pulled out her notebook, looking over the information. Tapped to the page was a picture of a boy with neat black hair and glasses, the expression he wore was a smug one. Rosalia had taken the liberty to draw little red devil horns over the small picture. She smirked at her work, before placing her notebook away.

The double doors swung open, causing rose petals to magically fly out in a spiral surrounding Haruhi and Rosalia. It was like something out of a shounen. Sitting with a prefect view from the door way was an exquisite looking couch, a perfect complement to the gorgeous boys who surrounded it.

Five boys elegantly surrounding a princely looking blond; each of the men were dapped in beautiful Victorian era clothing that complemented their skin tones.

The princely blond wore a beautiful white tail coat, complimented by a pale blue vest. Two identical red heads stood off to either side of the blonde, wearing identical costumes in a beautiful blue shade. Behind the blond was a tall man, whom towered above the others. His dark stoic expression was further complimented by his black ensemble. On his shoulders sat a cute little blonde kid, wearing shades of light blue, grinning from ear to ear; it was endearing really.

And there he was, Kyoya Ootori. Off to the right side of the blonde figure, clad in mysterious shades of deep purple and black. He held a small smile on his face, if Rosie didn't know any better she would say it was friendly and inviting. But, his eyes gave him away. His eyes didn't share the warmth that the smile was suggesting. His eyes were cold. Calculating. Summing up everything around him and determining its worth. His eyes were that of a frigid beast.

Rosie made eye contact with him, frowning. This was going to be far from enjoyable.

"Haruhi! Your late!" The princely blond exclaimed as he pointed a finger at the burnet.

"Sorry Tamaki, but I ran into someone who needed help. Not that I really want to be here," Haruhi muttered the last part to _himself_.

Rosie stifled a small chuckle as the one called Tamaki overdramatized Haruhi's lateness. Unfortunately for the foreign girl, that little scoff had drawn attention to her.

"Ah, now who do we have here?" The blond began to approach her, violet eyes glittering with amusement. "A boy? Well, we do cater to anyone whom walks into these doors."

Rosie raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Cater?" She repeated.

In one motion Tamaki closed the gap between them and snatched her hand, planting a soft kiss on it. "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club!"

Rosie snatched her hand away quickly, wiping it against the fabric of her pants.

"Don't like the princely type? Well then what does suit your taste? The stotic type?" He gestured to the tall quiet guy, "The boy Lolita type?"

As if being summoned the little blond boy, whom once occupied the taller ones shoulders, ran over to Rosie and began to tug at the fringe of her blazer.

"My name is Mitsukuni, but everyone just calls me Honey!" He proclaimed childishly. "What's your name mister?"

"Uh…" Rosie didn't even have time to utter a word as she was pulled back, snuggled between the two identical red headed boys.

"Or, is it the mischievous type that you prefer?" Tamaki had once again chimed in. "You know they have a _forbidden love_ package that I'm sure you would enjoy."

"Maybe you could be part of it," The twin to her left said in a seductive manor.

"But, Hikaru…I don't want to share you…" The other pouted.

Rosalia backed up, shoving the twins away from her. Rosie felt as if her head was spinning. This was way too much. When she entered here she was not expecting to be sexually assaulted by a gang of guys. Maybe it would have been a good idea to do a bit more research on Kyoya and his little gang, before charging in here.

"Ah! I know! You must prefer the cool type!" Tamaki proudly proclaimed as he gestured over to Kyoya.

Rosie looked in his direction, not uttering a word. Kyoya was the one she was here to see…not that she preferred his type. It was just an unofficial business call. "Yeah…that one," She muttered scarcely audible.

In moments she found herself seated across from Kyoya Ootori.

* * *

**Sorry, my lovelies, but I just had to throw in the cliff hanger! ;P Remeber, reviews feed a starving authors brain! Happy Christmas!**


	4. Confrontation With The Shadow King

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry this one took a bit longer to get out, please forgive me! I got busy with stuff over the break, but now things should be back on schedule! I wanna say thanks to all the new people who followed this story! And thanks to those who added it to their favorites! It really does make me happy to log on and see people following this story! Thank you!**

**Well I do hope everyone enjoys this next segment of the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC. I only own the OC.**

* * *

Rosalia had gathered three things from that complex situation that she had walked into. First, this was a high school host club…which was odd to say the least. Second, that blond was the one who seemed to run the show. Third, that blond was most definitely insane.

That aside, Rosalia was unsure of her next move. She was sitting directly across from Kyoya. She spent the entire day trying to find him, but now that she had she was at lost over what to do. She didn't expect it, but she felt nervous. Maybe coming here was a bad idea after all…

"Shall we start off with introductions? I haven't seen you around this school," Kyoya said.

Rosie cleared her throat in an attempt to drop her voice. "I'm Kazumi." Rosalia could feel butterflies tumbling in her stomach, but she did her best to ignore them.

"I'm Kyoya Ootori. It's a pleasure to meet you Kazumi," Kyoya gave that fake smile once more.

In all honesty Rosalia found it sickening. She could already tell she didn't like this man; he was far too cold. He was her polar opposite; where she embraced emotions he tucked his away. She sighed to herself, how could her parents expect her to marry someone like _him?_ They were only a few minutes into their first meeting and she could already tell this arrangement was doomed to fail.

"Why do you do that? Why do you always use such a fake smile?" Rosalia blurted out, instantly covering her mouth at the sudden outburst.

"Excuse me?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say my smile is a fake one?"

"People can't lie with their eyes. If you look into someone's eyes you can always discern the truth. Your eyes aren't smiling."

Kyoya leaned back into the couch looking slightly amused, "I hope I don't come off as rude, but I'm not the only one lying. Am I, Miss Kazumi?" Kyoya said lowly, as if it were a threat.

Rosalia felt a chill crawl up her spine. There was no way he could link the name with her, was there? It was her mother's surname, but her mother's side of the family wasn't very well known…so surly this boy couldn't put two and two together? All the same Rosalia felt uneasy.

Rosalia glared at Kyoya and leaned across the table, "Well at least you're not stupid," She growled, "But I highly doubt you really know who I am."

At least, she really did hope that her identity was safe. The last thing Rosalia wanted to do was to face the wrath of her father.

For a moment Rosalia and Kyoya sat in silence, staring each other down. It was a battle of information and Rosalia was pretty sure that she had the upper hand for a moment.

"I can't say that I'm familiar with the surname Kazumi."

"I'm not from around these parts Ootori."

"Nor, have I seen you at this school."

"My transfer hasn't been made official yet. That being said, I paid to be entertained…so entertain me Ootori," Rosalia said smugly, taking a sip of her Earl Grey tea.

Kyoya forced a polite smile, "My apologies Miss Kazumi. I'll try to be more…entertaining."

"So…Ootori, what's the point of this little club?" She waved her fingers around in the air, gesturing to the room and its people.

Kyoya glared at her slightly; there was a look on his face that said he didn't quite appreciate Rosalia's tone of contempt. The expression only lasted for a moment, before he replaced it with a polite smile.

"As you can see our club is very popular, so I wouldn't call it _little_. We entertain young ladies, such as yourself. It happens to be very profitable."

"Is that all women are to you? A profit?" Rosalia could feel anger bubbling in her stomach. She couldn't express this anger that welled up inside of her, glaring at Kyoya from across the table.

Kyoya's expression held a look of mild surprise, "I don't fancy any of them, if that's what you're asking."

"So you just toy with their feelings. You guys just toy with their hearts?" Rosalia said lowly, clenching her jaw.

"They know nothing can come out of this. Their just here to be entertained, it's all a fantasy to them. They have no complaints. The costumers are well aware of the fact that their feelings are not going to be reciprocated."

Rosalia clenched her fist. Is this how he would see her? As a profit? Was she nothing more than a few dollar signs?

The tension surrounding the two had been mounting ever since the start of the conversation. It was now at the boiling point. She couldn't stand being around him any longer. She needed to get out and clear her head.

"I really do dislike you, Ootori," Rosalia said as she stood and walked out of the room, nearly knocking poor little Tamaki down as she reached the exit.

* * *

Rosalia began the walk back to her hotel. She was in a horrible mood after meeting with that ice demon. She couldn't believe that he was the one she was being forced to marry. He was just so cold, so calculating…so not her type.

Rosalia came to a halt, sniffing the air. There was a delicious aroma in the air. She gave another sniff. Come to think of it, she hardly ever had Japanese food. Even though her mother was Japanese, Rosalia's family always had exquisite Italian dinners. But, now that she was actually in Japan she could try all the foods that she wanted; all the delicious foods she had seen in anime and manga At least one good thing would come out of her visit to Japan.

She grinned and followed the aroma. "Ramen," she read aloud slowly pronouncing each syllable. Rosalia was actually pretty good at speaking Japanese; however, reading the characters was another story. She could never really understand all the little characters; it was too confusing.

She pushed back the flaps of the ramen stand and stepped into the small area. Bar stools lined the small counter giving the place a warm and cozy atmosphere.

"Hello!" The man behind the counter greeted her, "What can I get for you?"

Rosalia glanced at the menu, pinned to the wall, behind the man. She squinted her eyes as she tried to connect the characters with meaning.

"You're a foreigner, right?" The owner behind the counter asked.

Rosalia blushed, "Uh, yeah…" She giggled nervously, "I don't read Japanese so well…"

The man gave a hearty laugh, "You could have fooled me, Miss. You speak the language very well."

Rosalia bowed slightly, "Thank you very much, Sir."

"Polite too! May I recommend the pork ramen?"

Rosalia took a seat at the bar and chatted with the owner as she waited for her food. Unfortunately for her she failed to take notice of the other person occupying the seat at the end of the bar.

* * *

**So...how did you guys like the story? What do you think is going to happen? I'd love to hear from my readers! *wink*wink*nudge*nudge***


End file.
